Company:Temu (marketplace)

From HandWiki
Short description: Online marketplace
Temu
Temu logo.svg
FoundedJuly 2022; 1 year ago (2022-07)
Area served
IndustryE-commerce
ServicesOnline shopping
ParentPDD Holdings[6]
Website{{{1}}}
LaunchedSeptember 2022

Temu is an online marketplace operated by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings.[6][7] It offers heavily discounted goods[8] which are mostly shipped to consumers directly from China .[9]

History

Temu is owned and operated by PDD Holdings, which also owns Pinduoduo, a popular online commerce platform in China.[10][11] PDD Holdings was initially registered in the Cayman Islands before moving its place of incorporation to Dublin in 2023.[7]

The Temu platform first went live in the United States in September 2022,[6] becoming the most frequently downloaded app in the United States.[12]

In February 2023, Temu launched in Canada.[3] That same month, the company aired a Super Bowl ad.[13] In March 2023, Temu launched in Australia and New Zealand.[1] In the following month, Temu was launched in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.[2] Temu eventually expanded into the Latin American market.[14]

In November 2023, Temu partnered with cybersecurity agency HackerOne to offer a bug bounty program to reward ethical hackers for successfully discovering and reporting security vulnerabilities.[15]

Lawsuits with Shein

In December 2022, Temu was sued by rival company Shein, alleging that Temu had enlisted online influencers "to make false and deceptive statements" about Shein to promote its own goods. Temu later sued Shein in July 2023, alleging that Shein had "engaged in a campaign of threats, intimidation, false assertions of infringement, and attempts to impose baseless punitive fines" on clothing manufacturers thought to be working with Temu.[16] On 31 July 2023, Shein won a temporary restraining order against Temu in a different case, alleging that the company used Shein's copyrighted images in product listings.[17] Later in August, Shein sought an injunction against Temu, filed in London's High Court, alleging the company had "identified thousands of instances" where Temu's sellers copied its listing photos. Shein requested all violating posts be taken down and at least £100,000 in damages.[18]

On July 18, 2023, Temu filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Shein of violating U.S. antitrust laws.[19] Temu stated in the indictment that as of 2022, Shein owns more than 75% of the U.S. ultra-fast fashion market and leverages its market dominance to compel exclusive agreements with apparel manufacturers, restricting them from collaborating with Temu.[19] Temu further contended that in May 2023, Shein mandated that its 8,338 manufacturers supplying or selling on their platform sign exclusive distribution agreements, preventing them from offering their products on the Temu platform or to Temu-affiliated sellers.[19] Temu contends that these manufacturers linked to Shein constitute a substantial portion, estimated at 70% to 80%, of all merchants offering ultra-fast fashion products in the U.S., leading to higher prices, fewer consumer options, and hindered growth of the U.S. ultra-fast fashion market.[19]

In October 2023, Shein and Temu requested that their respective cases against each other be dismissed without prejudice in Massachusetts and Illinois. Neither company offered further explanation or whether a settlement had been made.[20]

In December 2023, Temu sued Shein, alleging illegal interference with its suppliers.[11]

Business model

Temu allows China-based vendors to sell and ship directly to customers without having to rely on intermediate distributors in the destination country, making products more affordable.[21] Some sellers have stated that Temu asked them to lower their prices, even to the point of selling items at a loss.[22] Temu offers free goods to some users who successfully refer new users via affiliate codes, social media, and gamification.[8] Online purchases on Temu can be made using an Internet browser or through a dedicated mobile app. Temu uses large-scale online advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram.[12]

Temu requires its sellers to offer their products at prices lower than those found on AliExpress.[23] When multiple sellers offer the same product, Temu authorizes only the one with the lowest price.[23] Items not meeting Temu's minimum sales requirements (30 pieces and $90 in 14 days) are removed from the platform.[23]

Reactions

Consumer complaints

A common concern for buyers on Temu is the low quality of products, often attributed to sellers delivering expired or outdated items.[24] Users have also frequently voiced concerns over false product advertising.[8]

According to Andrew Chow writing for Time (magazine) , Temu is also starting to develop a reputation for undelivered packages and unresponsive customer service.[8] In addition to missed orders and product discrepancies, customers have also cited Temu for mysterious charges.[8]

According to Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch in relation to Temu's advertising campaigns, "These ads appear to be working to boost Temu's installs. But dig into the app's reviews and you'll find similar complaints to Wish, including scammy listings, damaged and delayed deliveries, incorrect orders and lack of customer service."[12]

In October 2022, the Boston branch of the Better Business Bureau opened a file on Temu; by the end of 2022, they had received 31 complaints from customers regarding the website's service.[8]

Intellectual property concerns

Sellers on Temu face recurring accusations of infringing upon intellectual property rights.[25] Instances of design theft have also been reported.[26]

Data privacy concerns

In May 2023, the United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission raised concerns about risks to users' personal data on Temu after Pinduoduo, its sister app in China, was suspended from Google Play because some of its versions, not available on Google's app store, were found to contain malware.[27][28][29] Two days after releasing an update to remove the exploits, Pinduoduo disbanded the team of engineers and product managers who had developed them. According to a CNN source, most of the team was transferred to Temu, working in various departments, but a core group of engineers remained at Pinduoduo.[30]

On 17 May 2023, Greg Gianforte, the governor of the US state of Montana banned Temu on government devices state-wide, along with ByteDance applications (including TikTok), WeChat, and Telegram.[31][32]

According to Politico, "Apple said the company previously violated the company's mandatory privacy rules and misled people about how it uses their data."[33]

Work culture

Temu has been criticized for having an intense workplace culture and encouraging a 996 working hour system.[34] This workplace culture has been connected to incidents of PDD Holdings employee deaths that have made international headlines.[34]

Forced labor concerns

In June 2023, the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party stated that Temu does not maintain "even the façade of a meaningful compliance program" with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to keep goods made by forced labor off its platform.[35][36][37][38] The committee's report delivered a critical evaluation of Temu, suggesting that there is an "extremely high risk of forced labor contamination within Temu's supply chains."[38]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "China-backed shopping app that could unseat Kmart, Big W". April 18, 2023. https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/chinabacked-shopping-app-that-could-unseat-kmart-big-w/news-story/2d37619c6237afd46895ad004062f6c2. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Qu, Tracy (2023-04-24). "Chinese budget shopping app Temu opens in Europe amid rapid expansion" (in en). https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3218124/pdds-temu-opens-shop-europe-six-new-markets-it-rapidly-expands-take-rivals-shein-bytedance. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 McLymore, Arriana; Hall, Casey (2023-03-10). "Shein, Temu in fierce fight over US market for $10 dresses" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/shein-temu-fierce-fight-over-us-market-10-dresses-2023-03-09/. 
  4. ↑ Crystal, Meirav (October 3, 2023). "Cheaper than AliExpress: Chinese website TEMU starts shipping to Israel". Ynetnews. https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/bke8clqg6. 
  5. ↑ Joder, Denise (August 13, 2023). "Aggressive adverdisting: Temu e new, clever player in online commerce (in German)". Swiss Radio and TV. https://www.srf.ch/news/wirtschaft/aggressive-onlinewerbung-temu-ein-neuer-geschickter-player-im-onlinehandel. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Murray, Conor (February 17, 2023). "What To Know About Temu: New Chinese-Owned Fast Fashion App Draws Comparisons (Good And Bad) To Shein". https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/02/17/what-to-know-about-temu-new-chinese-owned-fast-fashion-app-draws-comparisons-good-and-bad-to-shein/?sh=351587c23f14. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Maruf, Ramishah (28 June 2023). "Shein sent American influencers to China. Social media users are furious" (in en). CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/28/business/shein-influencers-brand-trip-china-hnk-intl. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Chow, Andrew R. (29 December 2022). "The Truth About Temu, the Most Downloaded New App in America" (in en). Time (magazine). https://time.com/6243738/temu-app-complaints/. Retrieved 8 March 2023. 
  9. ↑ Kharpal, Arjun. "China's e-commerce giant Pinduoduo quietly launches US shopping site in Amazon challenge" (in en). CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/02/chinas-e-commerce-giant-pinduoduo-launches-us-shopping-site-temu.html. 
  10. ↑ Liao, Rita (November 22, 2022). "Pinduoduo's sister shopping app Temu tops US App Store". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/22/pinduoduos-sister-shopping-app-temu-tops-us-app-store/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Jones, Callum (2023-12-14). "Online retailer Temu sues rival Shein, alleging 'mafia-style intimidation'" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/14/temu-sues-shein-lawsuit. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Perez, Sarah (January 28, 2023). "This Week in Apps: Temu's hot streak, Walmart's m-commerce & an Apple XR App Store". https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/28/this-week-in-apps-temus-hot-streak-walmarts-m-commerce-an-apple-xr-app-store/. Retrieved February 11, 2023. 
  13. ↑ Morley, Olivia (February 12, 2023). "Ecommerce Startup Temu Airs First Super Bowl Spot—Twice". Adweek. https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/e-commerce-startup-temu-airs-its-first-super-bowl-spot-twice/. 
  14. ↑ "美国观察｜被美国国会点名的Temu和SHEIN：高速增长、政治打压与剧烈竞争". https://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/_t2515/cc/9a/c21253a511130/page.htm. 
  15. ↑ "Temu Introduces Two-Factor Authentication To Enhance Security". https://www.securityinformed.com/news/temu-introduces-two-factor-authentication-enhance-security-co-1701762972-ga-npr.1701763423.html. 
  16. ↑ Toh, Michelle (July 19, 2023). "Shein and Temu's battle for US bargain shoppers is getting nasty". https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/tech/temu-shein-lawsuits-intl-hnk/index.html. 
  17. ↑ Arcieri, Katie (August 10, 2023). "Shein, Temu Take Fast-Fashion Antitrust Battle to US Courts". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-10/shein-temu-take-fast-fashion-antitrust-battle-to-us-courts. 
  18. ↑ Field, Matthew (2023-09-10). "Shein sues Chinese rival in High Court copycat row" (in en-GB). The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/09/10/shein-sues-chinese-rival-temu-high-court-copycat-row/. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 "A Once-Obscure Chinese Startup Overtakes Shein In US" (in en). Bloomberg News. 2023-06-14. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-14/china-fast-fashion-star-shein-gets-overtaken-by-temu-in-us-sales. 
  20. ↑ Hall, Casey (2023-10-27). "Low-cost e-commerce rivals Shein and Temu shelve US court cases" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/legal/low-cost-e-commerce-rivals-shein-temu-shelve-us-court-cases-2023-10-27/. 
  21. ↑ Conrad, Jennifer (October 26, 2022). "How Retail App Temu Lures US Shoppers With Mind-Bending Prices: The new ecommerce platform can beat Amazon on price by shipping direct from China. It's already racing up the charts.". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/how-retail-app-temu-lures-us-shoppers-with-mind-bending-prices/. Retrieved February 11, 2023. 
  22. ↑ Liu, Tracy Wen (May 26, 2023). "Temu Is Losing Millions of Dollars to Send You Cheap Socks" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/temu-is-losing-millions-of-dollars-to-send-you-cheap-socks/. Retrieved 2023-09-07. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 网易 (2023-07-26). "拼多多Temu出海记：一场席卷全球的价格战". https://www.163.com/dy/article/IAJEABAV0556196U.html. 
  24. ↑ "Temu扩张加速 法律风险不容忽视_中国贸易报". https://www.chinatradenews.com.cn/epaper/content/2023-03/23/content_82833.htm. 
  25. ↑ Kaufman, Nicholas (April 14, 2023). "Shein, Temu, and Chinese e-Commerce: Data Risks, Sourcing Violations, and Trade Loopholes". https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/Issue_Brief-Shein_Temu_and_Chinese_E-Commerce.pdf. 
  26. ↑ "What Is Temu? Read Before You 'Shop Like a Billionaire'" (in en). https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-temu-read-before-you-shop-like-a-billionaire. 
  27. ↑ Chiang, Sheila (2023-05-17). "Temu accused of data risks after sister app was suspended for malware" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/17/temu-accused-of-data-risks-amid-tiktok-pinduoduo-fears.html. 
  28. ↑ Leong, Clarence; Purnell, Newley (2023-03-21). "Google Halts Download of Chinese App Pinduoduo Over Security Concerns" (in en-US). The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-halts-download-of-chinese-app-pinduoduo-over-security-concerns-d0b22470. 
  29. ↑ "Google Suspends Chinese E-Commerce App Pinduoduo Over Malware" (in en-US). Krebs on Security. 22 March 2023. https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/03/google-suspends-chinese-e-commerce-app-pinduoduo-over-malware/. 
  30. ↑ Gan, Nectar; Xiong, Yong; Liu, Juliana (2023-04-02). "'I've never seen anything like this:' One of China's most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts" (in en). https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html. 
  31. ↑ Peters, Jay (2023-05-17). "Montana bans Telegram, WeChat, and Temu from government devices" (in en-US). https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/17/23727750/montana-bans-telegram-temu-wechat-other-bytedance-apps-government-devices-tiktok. 
  32. ↑ Kern, Rebecca (17 May 2023). "Montana bans TikTok for all residents" (in en). Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/17/montana-governor-signs-bill-banning-tiktok-00097540. 
  33. ↑ Goujard, Clothilde (2023-07-24). "Booming Chinese shopping app faces Western scrutiny over data security" (in en). https://www.politico.eu/article/booming-chinese-shopping-app-temu-faces-western-scrutiny-over-data-security-2/. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Stone, Madeline. "Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo has a 'hyperaggressive' culture with hours surpassing a '996' schedule, analysts write" (in en-US). https://www.businessinsider.com/pinduoduo-temu-pdd-996-9127-work-culture-bernstein-analysts-2023-8. 
  35. ↑ Hadero, Haleluya (June 22, 2023). "Congressional report says there's an extremely high risk Temu's supply chains have forced labor". Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/temu-shein-forced-labor-china-de7b5398c76fda58404abc6ec5684972. 
  36. ↑ Cox, Chelsey (2023-06-22). "Retailers Shein and Temu violate U.S. tariff law and evade human rights reviews on imports, House report says" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/22/shein-temu-evade-us-tariff-and-human-rights-law-on-imports-house-report.html. 
  37. ↑ "Temu: Risk popular website sells forced labour goods" (in en-GB). BBC News. 2023-06-22. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65990529. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Swanson, Ana; Fu, Claire (2023-06-22). "Congress Spotlights 'Serious' Forced Labor Concerns With Chinese Shopping Sites" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/business/economy/shein-temu-forced-labor-china.html. 

External links



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